Detailed Animal Action Report

Michael looks at his rats in their cage. He opens the cage door, takes out a rat and pets it. As he is holding it, he picks up a pocket knife and runs it over the rat. The scene cuts away, and then Michael is seen in the bathroom holding the knife in the sink with blood on his hands. The rat is never actually shown being hurt or killed. This scene was filmed in separate shots. Three rats were placed inside the cage by trainers. The child actor was introduced to the rats and instructed on their handling before filming began. The actor has pet rats at home, so he was very comfortable with handling them. A fake knife and fake blood were used. The rat was never in the sink. The production provided documentation that the dead animals that appear in the film were fake.